If you've heard of that fitness program called "8-Minute Abs," you should know that there is something even better out there: 7-Minute Abs!
OK, so not really. The idea is loosely borrowed/quoted from the 1998 comedy film "There's Something About Mary," but beneath the funny bits lies something a little more somber: A subtle hint at society's addiction to "Quick Fixes."
More and more people are seeking the quick fix. Or so it seems...
It could be for the illness that ails you; it could be for your obesity problem; it could be for getting in shape; it could be for learning something; it could be to reduce your stress; it could be for becoming rich; it could be for investing in Bitcoin.
Is wanting to find a "shortcut" to get from point A to point B necessarily a bad thing? Well, maybe not on the surface, but the deeper problem becomes that we tend to engage in riskier and risker cures, activities and programs to accomplish something that perhaps was never designed or intended to be accomplished quickly.
Meanwhile, the spiral of risk is perpetuated because idea-makers and marketers realize that people are more inclined to buy speed than quality and sustainability.
"If you just take this pill twice daily for 30 days, you'll lose 25lbs, guaranteed!"
Maybe so, but you're also likely to lose the function of your liver and your kidneys... or something else. People seem to conveniently forget that it might have taken them two YEARS of bad habits to gain those 25lbs.
I won't speculate on why everyone is in such a hurry... I'm more concerned with the potential of our need for speed to actually kill us, rather than cure us.
Some time back, I was spending a little time in consultation with my physician concerning my hypertension (high blood pressure) and we talked about courses of treatment. In the end, we mostly settled on the slow way: Better eating, losing weight and getting more exercise.
Dr. Rachel also commented that "most people" aren't willing to do something every day for six months or more in order to get results. Of course, being in the medical profession, she sees people every day who are looking for the quick fix; typically citing that they "don't have time" for a slow natural fix.
But it's much more than health we're dealing with.
Part of what ails many aspects of the business and financial world tends to be an excess dependency on short term thinking to get short term results.
Some people, of course, advocate that we live in such a chaotic and uncertain world that long term planning is no longer meaningful. What we plan for might not even exist in another six months... so just plan for tomorrow.
Which brings the "loop" back around: What sort of life can we possibly hope to have, as beings that have a life expectancy of some 70+ years... if we never think beyond tomorrow and next week? What sort of life will be have if we only concern ourselves with what is wise today, and don't examine whether it will kill us, three weeks from now?
Not writing this as a criticism of any particular approach... just writing to open a line of inquiry and examination of how human life seems to be unfolding, these days.
Thanks for reading!
How about YOU? Do you think we've become (or ARE becoming) addicted to short term fixes? Is that a bad thing? Or makes no difference? Or simply a result of the ever-quickening pace of modern life? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 20200725 19:15 PDT
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